Change without Martial Law
By Dr I. Kamal
CA

 

“It is our earnest desire that the same fault may have the same punishment in the person of King or Lord as in the person of the poorest commoner…”

 

-- From a Petition by a Regiment Commander to Lord Fairfax, then Commander-in-Chief of the British Army, preceding a series of events which led to the trial and execution of King Charles I of England on January 30, 1649 (Ref.: A Coffin for King Charles by C.V. Wedgwood, page 15).

 

One could not help but be moved by Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri’s historic speech on August 15, 2014, demanding justice for the point blank killing of 14 innocent men and women by the state police, on camera, where even the registration of an FIR (First Information Report) was not allowed by the powers that be. In a series of lectures he has expounded the rationale and details of his very well-thought-out and comprehensive plan to permanently cure the nation’s ills and to restore power to the people for the first time in the history of Pakistan.

Unfortunately, the parliamentary democracy system, a legacy of the British Raj, has become so much ingrained in the minds of most people in Pakistan that they equate democracy with parliamentary democracy. They fail to understand that what Dr Tahirul Qadri is asking for is a change to a system similar to that given by the founding fathers of the United States: a tripartite system of government with a popularly elected president, and independent and autonomous executive, legislative and judicial arms of the government acting as checks and counter-checks upon each other. He is also asking for the creation of more provinces and the devolution of power to smaller, manageable units to replace the current system based on the Raj-created four provinces, with 60% of the population residing in one province.

The worst flaw of parliamentary democracy for Pakistan is that it amalgamates the executive and legislative arms of the government which lays the seeds of corruption, making politics a “business of making and staking money”, as correctly described by Imran Khan. It works in Britain because it was developed and perfected over a period of 600 years of trial and error from the signing of the Magna Carta in 1215 to the urban shift following the Industrial Revolution around 1815. This is a luxury which Pakistan cannot afford, but many of its pundits continue to advocate. This system has been fairly successful in India, in spite of rampant corruption still prevailing, because an end to zamindari (feudalism) was included in the program of the Congress and was firmly implemented within a couple of years ofIndependence in 1947. This has not as yet been done in Pakistan.

It is also unfortunate that, after being beaten by the system in three previous elections, prior to each of which he was full of confidence (“we’ll sweep the elections ji!”) Imran Khan does not seem to have learnt his lesson. President Bill Clinton won two successive elections in the USA by correctly diagnosing the problems at that time in a phrase which he subsequently made famous: “It’s the economy, stupid!” Someone needs to tell the current aspirant to power in Pakistan: “It’s the system, stupid!”

Dr Tahirul Qadri has shown the wisdom, the courage and determination of a great leader. His clear-thinking, logic and speech-making are reminiscent of the great Muslim leaders of the sub-continent in the past: Maulana Zafar Ali Khan, Nawab Bahadur Yar Jang, the Quaid-i-Azam himself and Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan. He does not have any personal ambitions. His mission is noble and deserves the support of all Pakistanis who put their country first. The only un-answered question, in the words of an old English song is, “How’re we going to get there? that’s the rub!”

T here is only one institution in the country which has the organization, discipline, honesty and meritocracy in its ranks to bring about a peaceful change: the Pakistan Army. It is the only institution in the country which the general public respects and trusts. It is the only institution where the officers have risen in the ranks on the basis of merit and merit alone. No military ruler of Pakistan has indulged in personal corruption. Dr Qadri has clarified that he would leave the basic structure of the constitution intact, but would insist on the strict enforcement of all its original clauses pertaining to human rights, in particular the first forty articles. Amendments required for the system change can be put before the public in a general referendum. The only fair elections in Pakistan were held under the auspices of the Army in 1970. This should be repeated for the first elections after introduction of the system reforms.

In recent years, whenever the civil administration has been in trouble, it has taken the help of the Armed Forces of Pakistan. The general public has as much right over the Armed Forces as the civil administration. Dr Qadri has declared his opposition to Martial Law. That’s fine. Martial Law is not necessary. To the former President Gen. (R) Parvez Musharraf goes the unique distinction of never having imposed Martial Law in the 7 years of his presidency, while giving Pakistan the best governance in recent years. In contrast, the late Z. A. Bhutto, the godfather of the so-called democracy in Pakistan, was quick to assume the title of Chief Martial Law Administrator, with designer-made uniforms, when he took office. It would be useful to study the peaceful manner in which the Army took power in 1999, to the relief of the general public.

The Pakistan Army has got its hands full on both the northern and the southern borders, and in taking care of the Taliban threat in the interior of the country. Its role can at best be that of a facilitator, presiding over a transitional, non-political government selected from the best brains in the country. Unfortunately, many people in Pakistan jump up whenever the Army is mentioned, as a result of vicious propaganda by politicians whose game of plunder-and-loot-by-turn gets interrupted, and by some lifafa journalists, because the lifafas stop coming. In the year 2014, there is no chance of an Army Chief trying to sit permanently (as was done by the late Gen. Ziaul Haq, mentor of many politicians currently in power), especially with a person like Gen. Raheel Shareef at the helm.

In my opinion, the Army needs to come in for a brief period, this time by public demand, with a given mandate of enforcing ruthless accountability and introducing system reforms. The eyes of the people are on the Pakistan Army, to deliver them from a ruling class the members of which are oppressors, and restore power to the people through a truly democratic system of government as defined by Dr Tahirul Qadri.